Body found likely that of missing Utah boy

LAYTON, Utah - The body of a boy who matches the description of a missing 4-year-old child has been found in a Utah canyon and his mother and stepfather are in custody, police said Tuesday.

Layton police said Ethan Stacy's stepfather, Nathan Sloop, 31, will be charged with aggravated homicide. His mother, Stephanie Sloop, 27, will be charged with felony child abuse. Both will face obstruction of justice and desecration of corpse charges.

The search for Ethan started Tuesday after police said the boy's mother had reported him missing, saying she has last seen him in bed at their Layton apartment Monday night. Officials said she told them that the boy had wandered away five of the last 10 nights.

"That appears to have been a ruse by the mother, something to cover the tracks," said Layton police Lt. Garret Atkin.

Later Tuesday police said they had a credible lead and no longer needed volunteer searchers. The search at that point shifted to Ogden Canyon.

It's unclear when Ethan was killed or how, police said Tuesday. Atkin said either the mother, stepfather or both revealed the location of Ethan's body and that searchers dug up his remains. Five officers were seen carrying a blue bag out of the woods late Tuesday afternoon.

Atkin refused to describe the condition of the boy's body.

Ethan arrived in Utah 10 days ago to spend the summer with his mother, police said. His biological father is in Virginia.

Investigators spent the early morning hours combing through cupboards, closets, Dumpsters and the area near the apartment complex looking for the boy. Sex offenders in the area were also interviewed and had their homes searched, Atkin said.

The Sloops' story changed throughout the day, Atkin said.

Layton is about 25 miles north of Salt Lake City and Ogden Canyon is northeast of Layton.